Around the House Today

Loveless Cafe

do you remember aaron? he was one of travis' best friends and we hung out all the time. he used to go to shows with me a lot when travis was working and couldn't come. here is a cute picture of us at graceland over spring break in 2004! look at those babies!


he moved to california in 2005 and got married to a lovely lady, and then last year they had a baby! and last weekend they came to visit!

cute!! i love them so much!! i even held lilly! second baby i've held ever. haha.

we met up at the loveless cafe for lunch.

it's one of those classic places you have to visit when you come to nashville.


there is always a long wait, but there are fun little shops around to pass the time.

thomas already scaring the baby. haha.


i got egg gummies. they taste so good! (peach flavored)

the famous biscuits! we had two platters worth. yummmm.


we just talked and laughed a lot.

my plate! the sweet potato fries weren't very good, but everything else was. so salty and unhealthy. i love southern food.

French Lentil Stew

oh man guys, i am so miserable right now. my foot is so tender still, and swells up if i can't keep it up. i came home from work early today.

so i've just been sitting in "the dad chair" and watching tv. rose doesn't like it because it's harder for her to get in my lap. poor spoiled princess.

i've been making cheese toast with the delicious local garlic paprika jack cheese that dana and i bought at the farmer's market. i used the last of it today, and my foot was too painful to go to the farmer's market. wah, poor me. haha.
i'm going to finally post that french lentil stew recipe! it is SO GOOD. travis loves it and gobbles down the leftovers so fast. and i took some terrible pictures in my dark kitchen at night.
it's from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair


French Lentil and Potato Stew
Prep time: 1 hour and 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings.


lots of ingredients:

1 table spoon ghee or extra virgin olive oil
1 onion; chopped
6 red potatoes; cubed (i use way more than it calls for because that's the best part)
1 parsnip; sliced (if not in season, use a carrot)
1 stalk celery; chopped
1 carrot; chopped
1 cup French lentils
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice


it seemed like way too many spices to me, but it ended up being really good. it tastes like indian food. dana compared it to korma.

look at this cute thing i got recently! it's martha stewart of course. it clips to your pan so you pan keep your spoon there! perfect! i hate having to wash my spoon rest. (which is crazy, i know)

this is ghee. it's clarified butter. this is the first time i've tried it. basically it is butter than can be heated a lot higher than regular butter without burning. but you can use olive oil instead if you don't want to buy ghee.

1. Melt ghee in a 4 quart pot in medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add all spices and saute for a few more minutes.

2. Add potato, parsnip, celery, carrot, lentils, and water. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 50 to 60 minutes. When lentils are creamy, pour in the salt.

it's not the prettiest stew, but oh man, it is SO GOOD!!!!!!!

Tribute to Rose

I finally got my foot tattoo! and it hurt even worse than i feared! it hurt for the entire three hours.
but look at how perfect it is!




the drawing!

halfway done. after he did the red he gave me the option of finishing the color later. but i didn't think i would be brave enough to come back again for it. it's going to take a long time for me to be willing to do the other foot.



i LOVE IT. it's perfect. the perfect tribute to my little puggy love rose. i have to keep my foot up today so my foot doesn't swell up like a balloon. a bunch of people are coming over later so hopefully i'll be able to let travis take care of everything.
also, a note. my foot isn't really dirty, that is ink all over my toes. haha, just had to clarify.

another trip to rock island.